Thefts of York stone flags ‘at worst level for over 30 years’

Council chiefs say they believe the precious York stone, which paves many of the city’s streets, is being targeted by gangs travelling into North Yorkshire from other parts of the region who are stealing it to order in broad daylight, before selling it on for around £100 per square metre.

There have been four serious thefts in the past month alone, with residential streets and even a conservation area stripped of their York stone flags – some of which are centuries old.

Martin Horner, head of civil engineering at York Council, says the problem is now the worst he has ever known.

“I have worked for the council for 30 years and this is the worst I have known it for stone thefts”, he said. “This is the heritage of York that these people are stealing.

“Decent quality York stone is always expensive and a lot of the stones in the city come from the old mills of the West Riding and are not available any more.

“I can’t believe these stones are being stolen and stored somewhere. They must be being stolen to order.

“Even when we have replaced the stones you can tell where they have been stolen – there is an awful lot of inconvenience caused.

“Council teams can be easily identified because they will arrive at the site of work in a York Council liveried vehicle and will be able to provide proof of identification. “All bona fide work will be carried out within normal working hours.”

In the majority of the thefts, it is believed the thieves arrive in a Transit van before levering the stones up with a pick-axe and piling between six and 10 flags into the vehicle, then fleeing in a matter of minutes.

The council have been filling in the gaps from the stolen stone using normal road materials to make it safe before seeking out good-quality replacement stone to replace it with.

Mr Horner estimates more than £8,000 damage has been caused in the recent surge in thefts.

Since early April, the stones have been stolen from St George’s Place, St Paul’s Terrace, New Walk Terrace – which is a conservation area – and last week, Jameson Terrace.

All of the thefts have taken place during early evening apart from the most recent which took place during the middle of the day.

Julian Sturdy, the Conservative MP for York Outer, says he is appalled at the thefts and urged more to be done to stop the stones being stolen.

“It is very worrying that this York stone is being stolen”, he said.

“This is the heritage of the city and something that is very difficult and costly for taxpayers to fund replacements.

“This is something that we have to crack down on.

“Because these thefts can happen so quickly it is a very difficult thing to police, but that does not mean we have to accept it – we have a duty to bring a stop to this.

“This is a historical city and that is something that needs to be protected.

“The street scene of the city is something that is very important and vital to York’s visitor economy.”

York stone has been used in the city since Roman times, especially for floors as it splits naturally into flat slabs.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police, said: “The theft of paving stones not only creates a hazard for the public, it is expensive and time consuming for the council to replace them.

“We would encourage anyone who has information about these thefts to contact the police.”

Anyone wanting to report further instances of missing stone, should contact the council’s neighbourhood services team on 01904 551550 or police on 0845 60 60 247.